Chapter 47 Preparations (2)

  "Alright, you've all mastered the previous drills and formations. Next, we'll move on to the boxing formations." Yang Heng had compressed all the training into one day, in order to save time. Today was already the 28th of the Lunar New Year, if they slowed down any further, they might not be able to perform on New Year's Eve, and the kids still had other performances lined up.

  "Everyone, face me and form two horizontal rows." The two horizontal rows, in the front row were three shorter kids, Niu Zi, Chou Chou, Xiao Niang, while the back row consisted of Dan Dan, Hu Zi, and Xiao Chong. They formed two neat rows, with each row's height not differing by much. Yang Heng also restricted their step size, requiring them to follow Niu Zi's pace, with the shorter ones hurrying a bit and the taller ones taking smaller steps.

  "Right face, forward march, count off from the rear to the front, from right to left." This is also a necessary routine for military boxing collective boxing. "One two, one two three."

  "The formation of the boxing team from front to back, from left to right, dispersed in order. What's wrong? Didn't I tell you all yesterday? You've all forgotten." Yang Heng suddenly found that the children had stopped moving.

  "Report to Brother Heng. You've mentioned it before, but you haven't explained it to us, so we don't quite understand." Hu Zi shouted loudly in the ranks.

  "Ah, this is my mistake, Tiger's suggestion is good. From front to back, it's like this: when you report numbers from back to front, the number you report should be multiplied by two and then subtract one, that's the number of steps you need to take. For example, if Niuniu reports two, it means two times two equals four, minus one is three, so you need to take three steps forward. And Dandan is one, can only take one step. Also, as a row, you should know which row you are in, and follow the same rule. After walking from front to back, then turn left, continue walking according to the numbers reported by rows, still following the multiply two minus one standard, then turn right back, make some adjustments, until horizontal rows and vertical columns are formed. Got it? Here, Yang Heng changed what should be a scattered formation into a uniform step, although slightly less than perfect, but not unacceptable either."

  "I understand." The crowd of kids shouted in unison, they had to shout loudly, yesterday they had shouted this sentence many times, almost hoarse from shouting. However, Yang Heng wasn't directing this at the kids, but rather he noticed his old man watching from the side, so this was all for his old man's benefit, maybe his old man would use it in the future.

  "Army Boxing First Style, prepare for combat." "Hah!" This time the kids were in line because they had secretly trained for a long time. If they weren't in line after that, there would be nothing to say.

  Next, the children quickly mastered this set of boxing moves. "Next, you must listen carefully, I don't want to repeat such simple things." Then Yang Heng explained the steps for gathering, and even added some slogans suitable for the times.

  "Form the original team." "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, raise vigilance, defend our Great Tang, long live your majesty, ten thousand years, ten million years, one, two, three, four." This imperial power is supreme, this idea must be instilled in children from a young age. Yang Heng did not have the idea of rebelling and establishing a republic, so he had to adapt to the times, even this would inspire his old man, because next time, when his old man returned to the military camp again, those hundred people would let him lead the training.

  Not bad, not bad, the kids' voices are really loud. Not only did Yang Heng nod his head in approval, but even Old Man was secretly nodding his head on the side, unaware that this was all done by Yang Heng for his benefit.

  These trainings didn't continue on the platform, after Yang Heng went home, he found that a pavilion had been set up on top of the platform. This was a small pavilion designed with a circular wooden structure and wooden boards. If it were to be left here for an extended period, it might rot away, but temporarily it would do. The materials used were very good, so there was no need to worry about it being blown away by the wind or crushed by snow. Yang Heng thought that next year he would move the platform to the courtyard and replace the pavilion with a new one. At that time, during his free time, these five families could occasionally gather together, and even invite villagers to join in, especially the village children. Yang Heng felt that since his five families were already doing well, they should help other villagers next. After all, they were all part of the same family, like brothers and fathers. When the younger generation did well, they couldn't forget their elders, or even some of their own brothers. As for interacting with villagers, it would naturally start from gatherings. "When prosperous, benefit all under heaven; when poor, cultivate virtue alone." Perhaps Yang Heng's thoughts coincided with this famous saying from an unknown era.

  Looking at everything in front of him, Yang Heng began to get excited. Now that he had arrived in this era, he could finally say that he had a foothold here. Although there were still some uncultivated land that hadn't been opened up, it would definitely be cultivated next year. And his father's fate was also changed because of Yang Heng's arrival. With his father's strength, if it wasn't recorded in history, it wouldn't have been possible. The only reason was that without Yang Heng's time-traveling, his father would have been killed by that so-called Li Sanlangjun. But after Yang Heng arrived and left the county town in a timely manner, he avoided danger and changed his fate from then on.

  But what's missing now? Yang Heng suddenly felt something was off. The atmosphere of the New Year was there, but around him, there wasn't any festive atmosphere. Couplets, Yang Heng knew that this era didn't have couplets yet, so naturally, there wouldn't be any red paper to sell outside either. That's not what he wanted. What else was missing? Something red... Ah, got it! It was the big red lanterns! Since he had an idea, he quickly found his younger uncle and some bamboo sticks. His younger uncle quickly made a lantern according to Yang Heng's idea, but with just the skeleton of the lantern done, they couldn't use hemp cloth to cover it, that would be too ugly.

  "What are you guys doing?" The old lady saw Yang Heng and Xiao Shu turning around outside the house, obviously seeming to be up to something.

  "Mother, you can't help with this, we are short of a piece of red cloth." "Red cloth? What red cloth? How about the red satin?" "Satin is fine, but do we have any at home?" "Of course we do. Why would I mention it otherwise? This was given to me by your grandfather when he bought it for my wedding preparations. But because I was in such a hurry to get married, this piece of satin wasn't used then, and afterwards there was no chance to make clothes with it either. That's because this kind of cloth is only suitable for wearing at weddings; other times, families like ours aren't qualified to wear satin."